The Army's new
Bushmaster vehicles have successfully passed the first stage of the new
test regime agreed by Government last year. As a result of the positive
trial, the Bendigo facility is now preparing for the production and
delivery of the vehicles that will be used in the next stage of the
reliability testing.

A further trial of a small number of
vehicles will be carried out next year. This will determine whether ADI
can continue to full-scale production under the revised contract.
Subject to the outcome of the trial of initial production vehicles,
Bushmaster will be introduced into Service from 2005, for use by the
Army's 7th Brigade in Brisbane and the RAAF's Airfield Defence Guards.

The vehicles are designed to transport
troops to the battlefield, providing protection for troops against land
mines, mortars and small arms ammunition. Each vehicle will be fitted
with a weapon station capable of mounting the Army's family of light
machine guns.

The Bushmaster can maintain speeds in
excess of 90 km/h on Australian roads with a range of up to 800km
carrying nine infantry soldiers with sufficient supplies of food, water
and ammunition to last three days.

The contract seeks delivery of 299
vehicles within the total project funding of about $316 million Defence
Minister Robert Hill said today, "I am encouraged by the result, it
demonstrates that ADI has taken the opportunity given by Government last
year by continuing to address the reliability issues of the
vehicle."

Assault Pioneer
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Senator Hill said if ADI passed the
second critical trial the Government could look forward to the
introduction of an excellent vehicle for the ADF with prospects for
sales overseas.

ADI-manufactured
Bushmaster 4 x 4 vehicle (Source: ADI)

The Australian Army in March
last year ordered 370 ADI-manufactured Bushmaster 4 x 4 vehicles
to meet its operational requirement for an Infantry Mobility
Vehicle (IMV). Pre-production vehicles were completed late last
year and full production will run from 2001.

The Bushmaster IMV will transport
troops and equipment over long distances; it is not a combat vehicle. To
reduce life-cycle costs, the Bushmaster uses proven and in-production
subsystems where possible.

A 7.62mm machine gun can be mounted
on the roof and the baseline steel armour provides protection from small
arms fire and mines. If required, a higher level of armour protection is
available.

Standard equipment includes power
steering, a central tyre-inflation system, a spare wheel, individual
protected crew seats, a split air-conditioning system, a water-storage
tank and a winch that can be used to the front or rear of the vehicle.
Large calibre weapons can be fitted such as a 12.7mm machine gun or 40mm
grenade launcher.

THE Bushmaster Infantry
Mobility Vehicle (IMV) has passed final reliability testing, adding
another layer to the hardening of the Army.

Defence Minister Robert Hill’s June 22, 2004 announcement that the IMV
had passed its Production Reliability Acceptance Test (PRAT) heralds the
introduction of 299 IMVs into service and a quantum leap in protected
mobility.

The final acceptance test is expected to be completed late next month.

Designed and manufactured by ADI, the IMV is capable of accommodating a
full infantry section with equipment, offers exceptional on/off road
performance with speeds of up to 90km/h and ballistic protection from
small arms and mine blast with its specially welded v-shaped monocoque
hull and ballistically protected windows.

A Bushmaster makes mud its friend
during reliability trials.
Photo by Cpl Damian Shovell, Army newspaper

Commandant CATC Col Peter
Singh said the delivery of the Bushmaster would represent the
culmination of 15 years of trial, research and development in production
of a motorised capability for Army that will serve to bridge the
capability gap that exists between armoured fighting vehicles and
B-vehicle fleets.

“Bushmaster delivers a tremendous new capacity in hardening and
networking Army as Motorised Combat Wing (MCW) receives the first 18
vehicles this year with 299 vehicles expected in-service by 2007,” he
said.

The IMV fleet will consist of six variants including Troop, Command,
Ambulance, Direct Fire Weapon, Mortar and Assault Pioneer, which will be
employed from May 2005 within 7 Bde’s 25/49RQR and supporting units
and to Air Force’s Air Field Defence Guard Quick Reaction Forces.

THE IMV will transport troops to the battlefield and is fitted with
weapons stations designed to accommodate section light machine guns.

The successful completion of PRAT also paves the way for ADI to launch
the Bushmaster IMV on the international market.

ADI’s managing director Lucio Di Bartolomeo said Bushmaster was the
first armoured vehicle designed and produced in Australia since WW2.

Mr Di Bartolomeo said the Bushmaster had significant export potential,
being well suited for a wide range of military
operations. It had already attracted overseas interest.

“The United Arab Emirates will begin evaluation of the vehicle in the
next few months,” he said.

“Bushmaster was displayed in Paris this month at one of Europe’s
major military equipment exhibitions, Eurosatory, and attracted
considerable attention.”

Conducted by ADI and DSTO, PRAT included testing three IMVs for five
months over 110,000km on all terrains to test against all production
specifications including reliability, mileage and mean-time between
critical failure on breakdown for the engine in operational type
conditions.

DSTO then stripped and inspected the IMV for rates of malfunction and
wear in equipment to confirm the vehicle met Army’s reliability
acceptance mark.

OC MCW Capt John Papalitsas said PRAT was the largest hurdle for the
vehicle before introduction. “At that point of the contract, the Army
could have said ‘no, it’s not as reliable as we need it to be,
therefore we won’t accept it’.

“It’s a very big milestone, as the vehicle has met all reliability
specifications and has only one step left before full production of the
fleet commences,” he said.

“This is the First Article Test that will be completed next month.
“This is the ‘test till destruction’. It is a test of all elements
of the vehicle specifications.

“There are about 650 specifications, included in that is the
vehicle’s protective capabilities that were set for the project that
will again be tested against mine blast and munitions. On successful
completion of the final test, ADI will commence full production, which
will be about two-and-a-half vehicles a week.”